The transition from the grey, suffocating rot of Sector Zero to the First Floor was like stepping into a high-definition movie. The air smelled of blooming clover and expensive ozone. Above, a sky of artificial sapphire was streaked with digital clouds that never rained.
Kai stood at the edge of a marble terrace, his obsidian gauntlet hissing as it adjusted to the sudden surge in local mana.
[Location: Floor 1 — 'The Fields of Newbie Hope']
[Current Status: Viral (115,000 Concurrent Viewers)]
[Warning: A 'System Bounty' has been placed on your account.]
"Look at this place," Kai whispered to the floating camera lens. "The marble is polished with the sweat of F-Ranks, and the flowers grow on top of the 'Trash Data' we just left behind."
[Chat: "HE MADE IT!" / "Look at that FPS... the First Floor is so smooth." / "Wait, is that a Bounty Hunter behind him?"]
Kai didn't need the chat to tell him.
His Frame-Step passive was already buzzing. The world felt like it was stuttering, showing him "Ghost Frames" of where objects were about to be.
"Come out," Kai said, not turning around. "You're lagging."
From behind a pristine white pillar, a woman stepped out. She wasn't a Peacekeeper. She wore leather armor dyed a deep crimson and carried a sniper rifle that looked like it was made of glass and lightning.
[Name: Rose 'The Longshot']
[Rank: B+]
[Class: Mana-Marksman]
[Lore: A mercenary hired by the 'Aegis Guild' to clean up 'Visual Bugs'.]
"You've caused a lot of trouble for the sponsors, kid," Rose said, her voice cool and professional. she didn't point the rifle at him—she didn't need to. In this world, a Marksman's gaze was the trigger. "The Auditor said you're a glitch. I'm here to 'Alt-F4' your heart."
"The Aegis Guild," Kai spat. "Vane's puppet masters. How much are they paying you to keep the Lore hidden?"
"Enough to buy a penthouse on the 50th Floor," Rose replied. "Nothing personal."
She vanished.
Kai's Editor's Sight flared. He didn't see her body; he saw her Projected Path.
TRAJECTORY_CALCULATION: SNIPER_BOLT_01 -> [KAI_HEAD]
CRACK!
A bolt of blue lightning hissed past Kai's ear, scorching the marble. He hadn't moved his body—he had Redacted the distance between him and the pillar.
[Skill: Manual Redaction]
[Command: OFFSET_COORDINATE -> X: +5]
Kai 'glitched' five feet to the right instantly.
"You can't hit what isn't rendered," Kai challenged, his fingers dancing across the gauntlet's glass screen.
"I don't need to hit you," Rose's voice echoed from the trees surrounding the terrace. "I just need to hit the Zone."
Suddenly, the ground beneath Kai's feet turned bright red.
[Warning: 'Area-of-Effect' Lock-On detected.]
[Skill: 'Lightning Rain' — Casting...]
"Chat, watch this," Kai said, looking directly into the camera. "She thinks she's playing a combat game. I'm playing a Developer Tool."
As the sky began to rumble with mana-lightning, Kai didn't run. He targeted the Skybox.
[Command: MODIFY_LIGHTING_EFFECT]
[Status: BRIGHTNESS -> 1,000%]
The artificial sky of the First Floor didn't just brighten—it turned into a supernova. The entire sector was flooded with a white light so intense it bypassed eye protection.
"AGH! My eyes!" Rose screamed from the treeline. Her 'Lock-On' broke as her optical sensors overloaded.
Kai used the Frame-Step to sprint through the blinding white void. He followed the 'Audio-Data' of her scream.
He found her clutching her rifle, blinded by the very sun he had 'edited.' Kai didn't use a sword. He placed his obsidian gauntlet directly onto the barrel of her lightning rifle.
[Command: CHANGE_OWNERSHIP]
[Status: USER -> KAIZER_THORNE]
The rifle glowed purple, its code re-writing itself to recognize Kai's soul-print. Rose gasped as the weapon was yanked from her hands by the System itself.
"Wh—what are you?" she stammered, backing away into a tree.
Kai held the rifle, the lightning inside it now pulsing with the dark, jagged energy of his 'Censor' class.
"I'm the guy who's going to show the world what's behind the curtain," Kai said. He looked at the camera. "And for my next trick? We're going to 'Redact' the Aegis Guild's recruitment center."
[System: Viral Status Confirmed!]
[New Feature Unlocked: 'Community Poll' — Let your viewers vote on your next 'Redaction'!]
Kai smiled. It was a hungry, dangerous look. "What do you say, chat? Should I delete their building, or just their bank accounts?"
The 'Poll' icons began to fly across the screen like a storm.
[Current Vote: DELETE_BANK_ACCOUNTS — 82%]
"Evil," Kai laughed, his voice carried across the golden fields of the First Floor. "I like it."